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The Allegory of the Cave

Introduction:An allegory is a kind of story in which writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story. One of the most important allegories ever to be gifted to humankind is Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of the most potent and pregnant of allegories that describe human condition in both its fallen and risen states. The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. It is also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave. It is written as a fictional dialogue between Plato's teacher Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon at the beginning of Book VII of The Republic. The allegory of the cave:

Plato illustrates his dualistic theory his famous allegory of cave. Plato asks us to imagine a dark scene. A group of people has lived in a deep cave since birth, never seeing the light of day. These people are bound so that they cannot look to either side or behind them, but only straight ahead. Behind them is a fire, and behind the fire is a partial wall. On top of the wall are various statues, which are manipulated by another group of people, lying out of sight behind the partial wall. Because of the fire, the statues cast shadows across the wall that the prisoners are facing. The prisoners watch the stories that these shadows play out, and because these shadows are all they ever get to see, they believe them to be the most real things in the world. When they talk to one another about “men,” “women,” “trees,” or “horses,” they are referring to these shadows. These prisoners represent the lowest stage on the line—imagination. A prisoner is freed from his bonds, and is forced to look at the fire and at the statues themselves. After an initial period of pain and confusion because of direct exposure of his eyes to the light of the fire, the prisoner realizes that what he sees now are things more real than the shadows he has always taken to be reality. He grasps how the fire and the statues together cause the shadows, which are copies of these more real things. He accepts the statues and fire as the most real things in the world. This stage in the cave represents belief. He has made contact with real things—the statues—but he is not aware that there are things of greater reality—a world beyond his cave. Next, this prisoner is dragged out of the cave into the world above. At first, he is so dazzled by the light up there that he can only look at shadows, then at reflections, then finally at the real objects—real trees, flowers, houses and so on. He sees that these are even more real than the statues were, and that those were only copies of these. He has now reached the cognitive stage of thought. He has caught his first glimpse of the most real things, the Forms. When the prisoner’s eyes have fully adjusted to the brightness, he lifts his sight toward the heavens and looks at the sun. He understands that the sun is the cause of everything he sees around him—the light, his capacity for sight, the existence of flowers, trees, and other objects. The sun represents the Form of the Good, and the former prisoner has reached the stage of understanding. However, the man remembers the other prisoners still trapped in the cave. He returns to them and attempts to convince them that what they are seeing are just shadows of real things. They do not believe them and become so enraged by his foolish claims, that they kill him. Preferring the shadows, they have always known to the uncertainty of a completely new reality. For better understanding, the matter of the cave an imaginative picture of that cave is added here:

Picture: Plato’s cave Most of the humankind the allegory suggests dwell in the darkness of the cave. They have oriented their thoughts around the blurred world of shadows. The goal of education is to drag every man as far out of the cave...

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...﻿The Allegory of the Cave (also titled Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave or Parable of the Cave) is presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic (514a–520a) to compare "...the effect of education (παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, narrated by the latter. The allegory is presented after the Analogy of the Sun (508b–509c) and the Analogy of the Divided Line (509d–513e). All three are characterized in relation to dialectic at the end of Books VII and VIII (531d–534e).
Plato has Socrates describe a gathering of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to designate names to these shadows. The shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.
The allegory may be related to Plato's Theory of Forms, according to which the "Forms" (or "Ideas"), and not the material world of change known to us through sensation,...

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The myth of the cave is a famous allegory, written by Plato in The Republic. It was written in the form of conversation between Socrates and Glaucon and covers the idea of shadow against light or how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened. The story tells about the cave in which people live from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them and cannot turn their heads. Behind them is a fire which is blazing in a distance. Between people and the fire there is a roadway where puppeteers are carrying all sorts of figures and statues of animals. Prisoners can only see the shadows of these figures and completely unaware that these are only soulless statues. The idea of the cave symbolizes shadow or what we believe to be real, while the sun represents education, enlightenment and truth.
Further Socrates tells that if prisoners are released from their chains, than they would probably believe that the shadows are more real than what is really produces them. Or in other words if to show the prisoner the statues which are the initial cause of these shadows, than he or she would not know what they are. For him or her, the shadow will be more real than the actual thing. And if...

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In his book, Republic, Plato tries to explain justice through different dialogues between Socrates and other people. He explains how to live a just life, what a just society should be, and how just leadership should be taken. One of the arguments he uses to explain justice involves four stages of philosophical education. He describes them through dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon at a dinner party. Socrates uses what is called the allegory of the cave to explain the importance of education and just leadership in society. The four stages he uses line up with a previous conversation about the four conditions of the soul. They correspond with four subsections: the highest of which is understanding, next is thought, then belief, and the last is imaging. Plato’s allegory illustrates the imaging stage first.
The allegory of the cave begins with prisoners at the bottom of Socrates’ cave. These prisoners are bound there, unable to move their necks and legs. Behind them is a fire providing the only source of light for them, but they cannot see the fire. Between the prisoners and the fire is a wall, where there are people that hold up all different kinds of artifacts above it to cast shadows against the wall in front of the prisoners. The prisoners would suppose that the...

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The Allegory of the Cave is a deep theoretical philosophical scenario that is being described by Plato in the form of a progressive conversation which begins with Socrates having a fictitious conversation with his brother Glaucon. The conversation between both brothers deals with the lack of knowledge of humanity and the ethics that society has created. This story envelops the reality that comes forth through knowledge and the willingness for man to seek the truth. Once man has been made aware of this, all he desires is to share this with his fellow man and free them from their oppression of ignorance.
In this scenario Socrates asks Glaucon to imagine a cave that is occupied by prisoners who have been in the cave since childhood with their legs and necks shackled by chains where there movement is restricted and their visibility is limited to one side of the cave. Behind the prisoners is a gigantic fire and between the fire and the prisoners is a walkway which is used by people who often pass through carrying an array of objects. Unable to turn their heads and only knowing the shadows the prisoners begin to see this as their own reality.
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...The "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind his allegory is the basic tenets that all we perceive are imperfect "reflections" of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. The purpose of this allegory defines clearly the process of enlightenment. For a man to be enlightened, he must above all desire the freedom to explore and express himself. Plato's main concept of the cave is: people see reality as the visible world when reality really is more than the visible world.
The cave represents the people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world.The prisoners represent an ignorant, unenlightened, and narrow society. This would comprise of those who have not yet understood the meaning of life.The prisoners are without sun, without a higher understanding, and have limited understanding.Those who are chained represent all human beings who have been forced to think in one particular way; The chains are symbolic of limitations that pull us away from the truth. These chains permit the prisoners only to see shadows replicated by a fire behind them. These chained prisoners are restricted to only what the fire allows them to see – their own perceptions. Because the prisoners cannot see what or who is behind them, they accept...

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Allegory of the Cave
By Plato
Socrates:
--Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.
Glaucon:
I see.
Socrates:
And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone and various materials, which appear over the wall? Some of them are talking, others silent.
Glaucon:
You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.
Socrates:
Like ourselves they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?
Glaucon:
True, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?
Socrates:
And of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?
Glaucon:
Yes, he said.
Socrates:
And if they were able to...

...The allegory of the cave- summarised in informal essay form.
Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality.
The thesis behind his allegory is that, the basic tenets that all we perceive are imperfect "reflections" of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. In his story, Plato establishes a cave in which prisoners are chained down and forced to look upon the front wall of the cave. The two main elements to the story are that of the fictional metaphor of the prisoners, and the philosophical tenet in which said story is supposed to represent, thus presenting us with the allegory itself.
The multi-faceted meanings that can be perceived from the "Cave" can be seen in the beginning with the presence of our prisoners who are chained within the darkness of the aforementioned cave. The prisoners are bound to the floor and unable to turn their heads to see what goes on behind them. To the back of the prisoners, under the protection of the parapet, lie the puppeteers whom are casting the shadows on the wall in which the prisoners are perceiving reality. The passage is actually told not from the perspective of the prisoners, but rather a conversation occurring between Socrates and Glaucon (Plato's brother). While the...

...¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ in Different Perspectives
¡§The Allegory of the Cave,¡¨ written by Plato, is an interpretation of a
conversation between Socrates, Plato¡¦s mentor, and Glaucon, one of Socrates
students. ¡§The Allegory of the Cave¡¨ can be interpreted several different ways.
Imagine men in a cave chained up by their necks and legs, forcing them to only
look forward at a wall. An opening behind them lets the light in. Above the
burning fire and chains, there is a road. Have these chained men ever seen
anything else of themselves or others beyond the cave¡¦s shadows made by the
fire? Some people would say the truth is only perceived by the shadows seen
on the walls of the cave. What if one of these men¡¦s chains were taken off and
he was free to leave? Would the man feel pain when seeing the real world?
Would he be confused on believing what is real? Would it make a difference if
the chained man was briefly educated about what he was going to see first?
Perhaps he would understand and not be confused about what is real. Will the
man think what he saw before was much more real than what he sees now?
Questions like these will bring different opinions and meaning to ¡§The Allegory of
the Cave.¡¨ Whose interpretation, if any, is correct when explaining the meaning
of ¡§The...